Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1887-03-30
HOUSE OF Commons,
LONDON. March %. 1887.

HOUSE OF COMMONS,
LONDON, March %, 1887.
Hon. John Fitzgerald, Lincoln, Ne6. {:
The coercion bill proposed tonight
in the House of Commons is the eigh-
ty-seventh since the act OF the union,
eighty-seven years ago. 1t is also the
most stringent, tyrsnnical, and nncslled
for by the state of affairs in Ireland.
Never before has a coercion bill
been proposed when crime was
so rapidly decreasing, as compared with
previous years. The measure is aimed
against all open agitation, and appears
to be expressly designed for driving the
discomfort beneath the surface. II
places all public speakers, writers, and
conductors Of newspapers absolutely at
the mercy of stipendiary magistrates,
holding their Office at the pleasure OF
the Crown. 1t condemns the Irish
speaking peasant OF rack-rented Ker-
~ to the tender mercies Of
packed jury of Orangemen orlandlords,
or to a jury of Englishmen at the Old
Bailey in London. The Liberal party,
headed by Gladstone, stands as one
man against this iniquitous measure,
and will fight shoulder to shoulder with
us IN opposing it to the last. 1t seems
impossible to believe that even thepres
ent House of Commons will continue TO
follow the Tory Governmental their mad
course, and good judges consider that
the measure will break and ruin the
Cabinet. We must, however, prepare
for the worst, and confidently appeal
to the American people for that sym
pathy and support which they have
never withheld from people struggling
for liberty. CSignedl PARNELL.
PITzaERALDs REPLY.
LINCOLN, NED, March 80, 1887.
To Hon. Charles s. Parnev, House Of
Commons, London
Cable received. The League will re-
double its efforts. Ireland is sure of
American sympathy and support in the
coming crisis. The Nebraska Legisla-
ture to-day, by unanimous vote,
passed resolutions of sympathy with
ireland and condemning the Tory pol
icy of coercion. This and similar mani
festations throughout this free country
give the lie to the ISLANDERS of the
English press that true Americans do
not sympathize with Ireland. This
great liberty-loving people of the
United States are entirely in sympathy
with Ireland's struggle for home rule.
ISieped1 JOHN FITZGERALD,
President.
The following resolutions passed both
houses of the Legislature by unani-
nous vote and were Immediately ca
bled to Gladstone and Parnell:
Whereas the Government of Great
Britain, in defiance of the wishes of
the Irish people and of the expressed
will of the people Of Wales and Scot
land and of the Democracy of England,
deny the Irish peoples responsible gov
eminent, and now threaten them with
the infections of laws that will tram.
pie ON every vestige OF personal
and constitutional liberty, and must
only end in bloodshed, if not in the
ruin of the Irish people; and whereas
the Irish people have always been
steadfast and faithful friends OF Amerl-
can liberty, fighting for its achievement
and dying for its preservation, and so
bound up with us by ties Of blood and
honorable memories that our hearts are
greatly moved by their noble struggle
for human freedom therefore
ResOlUed, That we condemn the
Irish policy Of Lord Salisbury and his
Cabinet as at variance with every prin-
ciple of constitutional law and justice,
as inhuman in conception, and tending
not only to injure the people of Ireland,
but to imperil the safety of the British
empire and to estrange the goodwill
and friendship of the American people,
who have never sanctioned policy
that conflicts with justice and liberty.
Resoived, That we extend to Par
nell and his co-laborers and to the Irish
nation our heartfelt sympathy and en-
couragement to continue their gallant
struggle until, under the egis of q ma
tional and responsible government
Ireland shall enjoy peace and happi-
ness.
ReSolrcd, That we honor the noble
stand taken by Gladstone and the en-
lghtened Democracy of Great Britain,
and express our confidence that their
principles of justice and liberty to Ire
land will prevail over the barbarous
and unrighteous policy of Tory Gov
eminent.
Resolved, That copies Of these reso-
lutions be cabled to the Hon. Charles
Stewart Parnell and the Hon. William
E. Gladstone, House OF Commons,